


You be the Words, I'll be the Rhyming

by liamsfreckles



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Kid Fic, M/M, i'm just posting old ficlets to ao3 ok, singledad!liam, singledad!zayn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2016-09-14
Packaged: 2018-08-14 23:10:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8032672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liamsfreckles/pseuds/liamsfreckles
Summary: A little ficlet I wrote for loveontherocks.





	You be the Words, I'll be the Rhyming

**Author's Note:**

  * For [loveontherocks](https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveontherocks/gifts).



> Title from **That's What's Up** by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

“Liam Payne.”

He was glad that Tuesdays were his least busy days in the office. Not that he wasn’t without things to do: but when you ran your own programming company, you could afford to take a break when you wanted.

In this case: his break was answering a phone call from his daughters school.

“Mr. Payne? Hi, it’s Ms. Wright, and I’m Mackenzie’s teacher.” The lady on the other end of the phone said. Her voice was nasally, and it reminded him of almost every school teacher he had when he was a kid. “I was wondering if you’d be able to come in as soon as possible to discuss your daughter.”

Liam sat up a little straighter in his chair, his dark brow furrowing slightly with concern. “Is there something wrong? Is Mac okay?” 

Ms. Wright sighed. “Yes, Mr. Payne, she’s perfectly alright: we just need to come in to discuss a… _different matter_.”

“Is it serious?” Liam asked, glancing to the clock on his computer. He had a meeting with a start up company in an hour about redoing their entire site. “I mean, could it wait until end of day?”

“I’m afraid not, Mr. Payne: it’s a matter that we at the school wish to rectify right away, rather than let it fester for longer than necessary.” Ms. Wright replied, and it set Liam’s teeth on edge.

“Alright, yeah. I can be there in about twenty minutes.” He replied, pushing his glasses to the top of his head. 

They exchanged goodbyes and Liam ended the call, sighing as he checked the clock. He pushed himself away from his desk and stood up, glancing around the open-concept office to find the one person who could help him out.

“Ni, mate.” Liam called, watching as a bleach-blonde head popped up from behind a computer screen. “Need your help.”

Niall tugged off his headphones and shuffled his chair sideways. “Anythin’. Whatcha need?”

“I need you to take my meeting with that Louis Tomlinson fellow this afternoon.” Liam pleaded, turning on his best puppy dog face.

“Oh no…no no no. Not Louis. Last time he was in he asked what part of Scotland I was from.” Niall said, shaking his head violently. “AND had the audacity to be wearing that Doncaster Rovers jersey…”

“Ni, I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t serious.” Liam cut him off, already pushing his belongings into his bag. “I got a call from Mac’s school and they want me in right away, yeah? You do this for me, half the commission is yours.”

Niall’s features softened. “Well why didn’t you say it was about me goddaughter? Make it twenty-five percent and we’ll call it even.” Niall grinned, putting his headphones back on. “And give ‘er a kiss for me.”

Liam ducked his chin into his chest as he zipped up his knapsack. “I owe you.” He said, sliding the strap onto his shoulder.

Niall waved him off. “Jus’ bring her around this weekend. Harry and I haven’t seen her in way too long, mate.”

Liam nodded in agreement, chuckling to himself as he pushed his chair in and made his way by Niall’s desk, ruffling the mess of blonde hair, before darting out of his office and towards his daughters school.

–

Zayn got to the school with a few minutes to spare, walking down the hallway, his eyes on the numbers of each room. 

He turned the corner and found the room he was looking for: 114. It was quiet in the hallways, as all the kids were out at lunch, with the exception of another man sitting in an impossibly small chair just outside the door. 

The other man glanced up from his phone, smiling politely as Zayn came towards him.

“What did you get done in for?” The man asked, grinning slightly. 

Zayn snorted. “Me? Nothin’ that I know of…yet,” he replied, glancing around them. “Got a call from me sons teacher asking me to come in to have a chat? Reckon it’s serious if they’re callin’ me mid-day, yeah?”

The other man nodded. “Got the same call, actually…”

Just then, a strawberry blonde woman - older than Zayn’s mum - popped her head out of the classroom, her blue spectacles perched precariously on her nose. “Mr. Payne, Mr. Malik: won’t you please join us inside?” 

Zayn nodded slowly, as the other man got up from the chair and adjusted his knapsack, gesturing with his hand for Zayn to go first. Zayn grinned a little and stepped inside the classroom with the brunette right behind him.

The classroom was just as he remembered it as a kid: desks pushed up together to make larger ‘group tables’, a large carpeted area with bookshelves lining one wall, and drawers filled with toys and art supplies lining another. There was artwork  _everywhere:_ bright and colourful. 

On the carpet, sat his son Amir. Next to him sat a little girl, who he assumed to be the mans daughter. The little girl was dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt with the batman emblem on the front, with a pair of red converse on her feet. Both children didn’t  _look_  guilty….

“Please, take a seat.” Ms. Wright said, gesturing to the carpet. 

Zayn huffed out a breath as he sank down beside Amir, who looked up at him with a wide smile. Zayn chuckled slightly and rested his palm to the back of his sons head, leaning in to press a kiss to his brow. 

“Alright, babe?”

Amir nodded. “M’good baba,” he whispered.

Zayn watched the other man take a seat next to his daughter, sliding a protective arm around her little frame.

Ms. Wright stood in front of them, her arms folded across her chest. “I asked for both of you in today to discuss a matter that I believe could possibly get out of hand.” She began, glancing between the two. “This morning during show and tell, Mackenzie came up to talk about her…Batman toy. And some of the children began to tease her about liking boy-things.”

“Boy things?” The man asked, straightening a little. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“And Amir,” she continued, turning her attention to Zayn. “Came to her defence, calling another boy in our class a word that I shall not repeat.”

Zayn was flabbergasted. He looked from his son’s teacher, to Amir, and then over to the other man, who seemed to have the same look of shock.

“So: my daughter is being teased about what she likes, and Amir stood up for her.” The man said slowly, tilting his head. “Are the ones who were bullying Mac getting into trouble?”

“That’s neither here nor there at the moment.” Ms. Wright said, flustered. “I am suggesting that maybe it’s time for you to find some more suitable toys for Mackenzie to play with, like barbies or nice dolls - “

“By suitable: you mean for a girl.” Zayn piped in, quirking a brow. “Bit…old fashioned, don’t you think?”

“Kids are impressionable at this age, Mr. Malik.” The teacher said, settling her backside against the edge of her desk. “It’s only out of concern…”

“It sounds more to me that you believe that kids likes and dislikes should have a gender, Ms. Wright.” The other man said, and Zayn could tell he was trying very hard not to rip into her. “My daughter enjoys a wide variety of things, and I am not going to narrow her path by limiting her to what many believe to be for boys only, or vice versa.”

“I simply am saying…”

“Furthermore, I feel that your time is being wasted trying to pin this indiscretion - if you can call it that - on my child, and a boy who came to her aid. Maybe a little bit more of that effort could be invested in teaching others not to bully kids for what they like, rather than shaming them for what they do.” He continued, standing up with Mackenzie in tow. 

Zayn stood up too, with Amir tangling their fingers together. “Think I agree with me mate here, Ms. Wright.”

“Yeah!” Amir cheered, lifting his free hand in the air like a fist-pump.

Zayn snorted, tugging him close. “C’mon babe, let’s go get lunch, yeah?”

Ms. Wright bristled, her face as red as her hair. “Well, I never…”

“Bye Ms. Wright!” Both Amir and Mackenzie sang.

The two of them, along with Mackenzie and her father, left the classroom without one glance back. Amir let go of Zayn’s hand to run up to Mackenzie and take her hand. “That was AWESOME!”

He watched the two of them run down the hallway, laughing with each other. “Wait by the door beta, need to get your bag.” He called, turning to his son’s cubby.

The other man already had Mackenzie’s knapsack on his other shoulder, and his eyes were bright. “Did that just happen? I mean…really happen?” 

Zayn laughed. “Think it did, mate. “’Ve heard stories about her, though: might be time to transfer out of there.”

“Yeah..sorry, gosh: I didn’t mean to speak for both of us or nowt: I just…gets me fired up. Who doesn’t like batman?” The man huffed. “Mac - don’t climb on that, babe.” He called out.

“Clearly not Ms. Wright.” Zayn wrinkled his nose as he set Amir’s backpack on his shoulder. “M’Zayn, by the way: Zayn Malik.” He continued, offering his hand.

“Liam. Liam Payne.” Liam replied, sliding his warm hand against Zayn’s, squeezing it gently. “And that’s Mackenzie, obviously. Though these days she’s been begging me to call her Batgirl…”

Zayn grinned, biting the inside of his cheek. Liam was cute, with his soft brown quiff and the eyes like morning coffee with that little bit of cream, and the ruddy full lips. There was a boyish charm underneath the handsome features, and it made Zayn’s heart skip a beat. 

“Amir is into Green Lantern these days.” Zayn admitted as they walked down the hallway to where their kids were playing. “Asked me to paint a huge Green Lantern logo on his bedroom wall…”

“That actually sounds sick, mate.” Liam replied, impressed. “I can’t paint to save me life: best I can do is stick figures.”

They reached the entrance and Zayn watched as Mackenzie practically flew into Liam’s arms. Liam peppered warm, loud kisses all over her face, making the little girl squeal with delight. “Stoppit daddy!”

Zayn felt a tug on his jeans and he glanced down to find Amir, with those wide hazel eyes with the dark lashes looking up at him. “Baba, can we go to McDonalds and can Mackenzie and her baba come too?”

Zayn sucked in a breath. “Mac and her baba might already have plans, babe…”

“We don’t…” Liam said, setting Mackenzie back down to take her hand. “In fact, this whole thing got me out of a meeting, so we’re free…if you are.”

Zayn didn’t miss the hint in Liam’s voice: the out, just in case this was uncomfortable. He glanced back down to Amir, who was bouncing on the balls of his feet and nodding enthusiastically. He snorted, brushing Amir’s curls off his face. “Alright, beta, we can do that.”

Both kids cheered loudly, crashing into each other for a hug that was filled with cackles and giggles. Liam sidled up next to him, hands deep in his pockets. 

“M’glad you’re free, like.” He whispered, a warm blush on his cheeks. “I mean, to talk to you more about our kids love of comic book characters, of course…”

Zayn grinned. “Of course.”


End file.
